Bowlby is a major leading figure in the investigation of parent/child relationships and the development of attachment theory. The interest for him in taking up research in this field was triggered by becoming aware of ethological research surrounding animal imprinting. Mostly the work of Lorenz, who was responsible for discovering the theory that …show more content…
Winnicott worked directly with mothers and their infants in order to investigate the importance of emotional availability within the relationship and in doing this he looked to challenge the ideology of the 'perfect mother'. Winnicott coined the term 'good-enough mother' in reference to his ideas of how to best build an infants independence and sense of self. These original theories based on the direct relationships between caregiver and infant were a strong basis for Bowlby's ideas and prompted him to personally investigate the significance of attachment to …show more content…
Another key aspect of Bowlby's original attachment theory which has not been modified but yet has provided considerable basis for further research, is the concept of internal working models (IWM). An IWM is made up of a series of impressions: of the self, the other, and the relationship between the two. These three impressions form a model which enables us to study relationships (Oates. Lewis & Lamb,